NFL commissioner Roger Goodell last week rejected an appeal

"I've been hearing this stuff for years. And it instantly made sense when this concussion information started to come out," said DuBose. "The dots started to connect."

Gabe Feldman, a sports law professor at Tulane University, said the reference to the bounty system could help plaintiffs paint a picture of the sport as "not only violent but unnecessarily violent." Although he doubts the new claim will be a "game changer," he expects more lawsuits to cite the scandal.

"It certainly could be persuasive in the eyes of a jury," he said.
The complaint filed Monday goes far beyond targeting the bounty system. It also says the league encouraged players to view themselves as warriors and sold films that lionized the most brutal hits, such as the 1992 NFL Films production, "The Best of Thunder and Destruction." And it seeks to force the league to better educate players on the dangers of traumatic head injuries during the crucial period immediately after the draft.

The league's investigation found that Williams offered off-the-books cash payments of $1,500 for "knockouts," in which an opposing player was knocked out of a game, or $1,000 for "cart-offs," in which an opponent needed help off the field. The league has said the bounty pool grew as large as $50,000, and that as many as 27 Saints defenders may have taken part.

The investigation led to the indefinite suspension of Williams, who had taken a position with the St. Louis Rams and has since apologized for running the system, and the season-long suspension of Saints coach Sean Payton, who was found to have initially lied about the existence of a bounty program and instructed his defensive assistants to do the same.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell last week rejected an appeal of Payton's season-long suspension.

Some legal analysts said claims from players who weren't involved in the bounty system may not survive a challenge from defense attorneys.
"Everyone knows, including anyone who's played in the NFL, that it's a violent game, said Matthew Mitten, the director of the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University. "You didn't need the unfortunate circumstances of bounty-gate to tell us that."

But Bruce Hagen, an Atlanta attorney who has filed two lawsuits involving 33 different players, said the bounty system could play an important part in the lawsuits working their way through the courts.

"It shows that it's an institutionalized effort by management to go outside the bounds of the game as a way to motivate players even if it means intentionally having them injured," he said. "And that's wrong."

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